Dr. Martens posts decline in revenues and profit as US demand remains weak
Dr Martens has posted a decline in annual revenue and profit as its performance continues to be impacted by weak US demand.
In the year to 31 March, revenue fell by 12.3%, or by 9.8% constant currency, to £871.1 million while pre-tax profit decreased by 42.9% to £97.2 million.
Although wholesale revenue dropped by 28%, mainly due to reduced demand in the US, direct-to-consumer revenue was up 2% as retail revenue increased by 6%.
Meanwhile, ecommerce sales were broadly flat in the period.
Explaining its regional performance. Dr. Martens said EMEA revenue was down 3% after 12% growth in DTC was offset by a decline in wholesale. Americas revenue fell by 24% while APAC revenue was broadly flat driven by growth in Japan.
During the year, Dr. Martens opened 35 net new stores, the majority of which were in continental Europe and APAC.
The brand said it reaped the benefits of its supply chain strategy in the period which delivered continued savings and supported gross margins.
Kenny Wilson, Dr. Martens’ chief executive, said: “Our FY24 results were as expected and reflect continued weak USA consumer demand. This particularly impacted our USA wholesale business and offset our group DTC performance, where pairs grew by 7%. We have achieved robust performances in EMEA and APAC, and our supply chain strategy continues to deliver good savings.
“We are clear that we need to drive demand in the USA to return to growth in FY26 onwards and are executing a detailed plan to achieve this, with refocused and increased USA marketing investment in the year ahead.
“We are also announcing a cost action plan across the group, targeting savings of £20m to £25m. I am confident that the actions we are taking as we enter this year of transition will put us in good shape for the years ahead.”
In April, Dr. Martens announced that Wilson had decided to leave the business and that his successor would be Ije Nwokorie who is currently serving as chief brand officer.
